


'Seven Minutes' in Hell

by SquidProxy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Gen, Keith feels bad, Lance is sad, Lance punches a door, Langst, Other, Seven Minutes In Heaven, Voltron, bonding exercise, can we get more Langst where Lance doesn't die, implied klance, is this how tagging shit works, they don't actually get into a relationship yet but sh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 19:11:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquidProxy/pseuds/SquidProxy
Summary: The entire day had been filled with planning, with Allura and Lotor returning safely from Oriande they needed to decide what their next move would be. The Blade of Marmora had even come over to help, letting Keith and Lance catch up on their rivalry.So when Shiro out of the blue suggested a bonding exercise that sounded almost exactly like the typical party game, Lance had been more than a little bit surprised.





	'Seven Minutes' in Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Slightly inspired by a prompt from a friend! Not sure if they'd want me linking the list publicly so I wont aa
> 
> this is my first time writing (and finishing) a fanfiction and actually posting it publicly like this, I hope you enjoy!

"So basically... You want all of us to play Seven Minutes in Heaven?"  
  
The entire day had been filled with planning, with Allura and Lotor returning safely from Oriande they needed to decide what their next move would be. The Blade of Marmora had even come over to help, letting Keith and Lance catch up on their rivalry.  
  
So when Shiro out of the blue suggested a bonding exercise that sounded almost exactly like the typical party game, Lance had been more than a little bit surprised. "It's not- well, I guess if you think about it... It's a bonding exercise, a much needed one, not the party game where you do  _things_  in a closet." Shiro had said, though that didn't stop Lance from dropping jokes as Coran brought them something to spin in place of a typical Earth bottle.  
  
They were going to be chosen at random to go into a small room that used to be a storage closet, though Shiro made sure to give them some strict rules first. "None of you will be doing  _anything_  inappropriate in that closet or I swear to Voltron you'll regret it." The black paladin sounded serious, everyone nodding in response, it's not like anyone planned on doing anything like that anyway. None of the paladins- well, paladins plus Keith- liked anyone on the ship that way.  
  
Now that Lance thought about it, Keith was probably one of the reasons they were doing the exercise. He'd been growing further away from the team, especially after no longer being a Voltron paladin. He wouldn't admit it but Lance missed their constant arguing.  
  
He was only brought out of his thoughts when the bottle stopped on Keith, who rolled his eyes. "How is this supposed to help us bond? We're literally going into a closet, shouldn't we be doing something as a group?"  
  
"Well, this is more to strengthen the bonds between us as friends, rather than a team. I know not all of us have the best relationships or opinions on each other, so being alone with them should help with that."  
  
Shiro had given Keith the best response, but Lance had something else in mind. "What, you scared of having to bond with your teammates, Mullet?" He had his typical shit-eating grin, you know the one. Though it vanished immediately when the makeshift bottle stopped at  _him._  
  
The blue paladin stared at it for a moment before putting his arm around Keith's shoulder, "y'know I'm with Keith, what's the point in this anyway? I mean, we already DESTROY all our opponents in battle, a few rocky relationships wont do much." Keith glared and removed Lance's arm, the entire team making annoyed sounds at Lance's sudden switch in demeanor. "You sure you're not the scared one, Lance?" As soon as Keith said that Lance was up, dragging Keith towards the closet by the rim of his jacket, though not before asking Shiro how long they'd be in there.  
  
...An hour and thirty minutes.  
Lance had to do a double take just to make sure he heard properly, this was definitely not your typical Seven Minutes in Heaven. An hour and thirty minutes alone with Keith and his thoughts didn't sound like something he wanted to deal with.  
  
As soon as Lance closed the door he let go of Keith, who sat down and leaned against the wall in silence. Lance bopped his head on the door and let it slide downwards for a moment, he could hear Shiro locking it from the other side. Guess he realized Lance would've definitely tried breaking out. He heard the team walking away and then silence engulfed them, neither of the two wanted to speak up.  
  
After around twenty minutes Keith was the one to break the silence, "this isn't going anywhere." For once Lance fully and completely agreed with him, he moved his head from the wall and sat on the opposite side of the small space. His hand now on his neck, as it ached from how long he'd had his head in the same position.  
  
"I don't even know what Shiro expects us to do, we barely share the same opinion on anything. Hell, we were arguing about cereal earlier!"  
  
"Everyone knows that you put the MILK in before the CEREAL, Keith! This is  _common sense!_ "  
  
"This is exactly my point! We don't even HAVE cereal in space!?" Keith groaned loudly, leaning his head back against the wall behind him while Lance put his head in his hands. So far this whole bonding exercise was a bust.  
  
Ten minutes passed, Lance was pacing around the small space, likely trying to come up with a plan to escape this hell room, leaving Keith to watch him go back and forth from his place on the ground.   
  
"Can you stop?"  
  
"Stop what?"  
  
"That pacing! It's distracting."  
  
"Oh, distracting you from WHAT Keith?? We're in a closet!"  
  
"Let me reword that, it's  _annoying._ "  
  
Lance felt like he was about to punch the door in hopes that it would just fall off its hinges, he stopped and glared down at Keith. "Is everything I do a problem for you!? Cant even pace in a damn closet without you getting on my ass!"  
  
"Me!? You're the one who's always insulting me or my hair!"  
  
"Well that's understandable, your mullet's dumb."  
  
"GOD why are you such an asshole?!"  
Keith had stood up at this point, sneering at Lance who returned the glare.  
  
"Any time you do something cool you have to brag about it, have you realized how annoying that is? Especially when you rub it in my face like 'ooh I did something better than you Keith, take that Keith!" He did a fake impression of Lance, earning a "hey!" From the blue paladin.  
  
"First of all I don't sound like that, second of all maybe I rub it in because I only do something better than you once in a blue moon?? The team doesn't even pay attention to it! I didn't even know you cared enough to listen."  
  
"Maybe the team is ignoring it because it happens so much more damn often than you're acting like it does!" Lance didn't have a quick response to that, before he could think of one Keith continued.  
  
"You're always trying to one-up me, do everything better than I do, are you really so self-absorbed that you need to be the best at everything at any time??" At this point, Lance  _did_  punch the door, did it fall off its hinges? Hell no, he could feel the pain travelling up his arm. "You think I'm self-absorbed?? Really?! Most of my day is spent being ignored by my teammates because they think that I'm just an idiot who tells jokes. Any time I try to add onto a plan, I get a 'no time for changes, Lance' while additions from other team members are accepted right after!" Lance flinched and held his hand close to himself as he began to feel the full extent of the pain, Keith not daring to interrupt.  
  
"I'm not trying to one-up you because I'm so prideful that I need to be the best," he slumped against the wall and slid down its surface until he was sitting. "I just want the team to notice me. I want a reason to be here, okay!? Everyone thinks I'm the screw up, I'm that one character in the cartoon that's only there for comedic relief." He could feel a sting at the corner of his eyes but he refused to cry in front of Keith. "I brag about the cool things I do because I want to feel like I'm better than you at something for once." The blue paladin pulled his knees up, letting his head slump onto them, hiding his face.  
  
Keith wasn't sure what to say, but he sure as hell felt guilty. Lance wasn't fully in the right either but now wasn't the time to get on his ass for that. He loudly sighed, sitting down across from Lance. Silence once again filled the room and it was deafening for both of them.  
  
Time passed, the only sound being an occasional pained whimper from Lance, though any time Keith tried to begin a conversation with him he'd shut it down quickly. At this point Keith was beginning to wonder just how fucking hard he had hit the metal door. After getting tired of the silence and occasional noises from Lance, he slid himself closer to the paladin and took hold of his arm. "Hey- ow!" Keith positioned himself so Lance could only try in vain to take his hand back, whether he liked it or not Keith was inspecting the damage. There wasn't blood, but he could definitely see a bruise forming where his hand met the metal.  
  
"God you hit that door hard, what the fuck, Lance?"

He got no response from the paladin, Keith didn't know a thing about taking care of wounds. That was for Coran, or the healing pods. He knew ice would probably be useful but they were stuck in the closet for... Around fifty more minutes? He hadn't really been keeping track, but the injury wouldn't kill Lance. He could hold on until they were out. After a few moments he allowed Lance to recoil, pulling his arm back towards his chest. "That hurt, you know!" Keith groaned, "of course it did, Lance. I had to make sure there wasn't any blood."  
  
The room threatened to be filled with that deafening silence once again, but Keith wasn't having it. "You know the team cares about you right?"  
  
"Doesn't seem like it."  
  
"Lance-" the blue paladin shifted so he faced away from Keith before continuing, "from my perspective, I'm just an annoyance, screwing up the plans they all worked hard on."  
  
"But that isn't true."  
  
"YES, Keith, it is!" Lance sat up, several emotions in his tone. "Don't try and act like I don't get on everyone's nerves constantly, I get on my OWN nerves just as much, if not more! You wanna know why I hit that door so hard? I was trying my best not to punch  _you_ instead." As he felt the familiar sting, he looked away from Keith.  
  
"I'm not self-absorbed. At all. I downright despise myself, Keith! Everything was great before, I could pilot Blue way better than the simulations back at the Garrison, but the world just had to take that too! Black chose you as the new leader and it pissed me off to no end, not because I hate you, because I  _wish_  I could be like you!"  
  
Lance had his arms wrapped around his legs, burying his face and just hoping this stupid exercise would end already. None of his teammates were supposed to know just how much he was suffering every time they brushed him off, especially Keith, who was just staring. He was shocked that he didn't realize the facade Lance had been putting on, beginning to regret every time he ignored him or his dumb jokes. Lance was a pain in the ass to deal with but he didn't deserve to feel like he was nothing to the team. The occasional sniffs and shivers from Lance hurt, but he didn't know the first thing about comfort.  
  
"I know you wont believe me Lance, but the team really does need you." Lance raised his head ever so slightly, just enough to watch Keith speak. "You're like..." A few vague hand gestures, earning a sad chuckle from Lance.  
  
"...Glue, yes. You're like glue, Lance. Stop laughing at my struggles." He gently shoved the blue paladin in the shoulder, "you may not realize it but you've gotten us out of a lot of places, I'm sorry we didn't appreciate that enough. Your stupid jokes and carefree personality keep things light, but you can take things seriously when you need to."  
  
He sighed. "You don't realize how hard it would be for the team if we lost you." Silence, the sound of Lance shifting his position, Keith felt arms wrap around him and before he knew it Lance had pulled him into an embrace. "Thanks, Mullet." Keith could feel the wetness soaking through the shoulder of his jacket, but he decided it wouldn't kill him. He gave Lance a pat on the back as he returned the hug. "No problem, Loverboy."  
  
Footsteps could be heard in the distance and Lance shoved himself away from Keith, completely forgetting about his aching hand for a moment. "We will NOT speak of the events that transpired in this room to anyone, is that clear??" His uninjured hand quickly wiped his face, attempting to clear any sign of the tears from before.  
  
"Crystal clear, Lance."


End file.
